Minnesota e-Health

Minnesota e-Health Initiative

The Minnesota e-Health Initiative is a public-private collaborative whose Vision is to accelerate the adoption and use of health information technology in order to improve health care quality, increase patient safety, reduce health care costs and improve public health. Minnesota has been a leader in pursuing bold e-health policies and applying statutory mandates and governmental funding to accelerate the adoption of HIT, electronic health records and health data standards.

e-Health activities in Minnesota are coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) through the Minnesota e-Health Initiative, a public-private collaborative that has broad support from health care providers, payers, and professional associations. Guided by a 25-member advisory committee, the Initiative represents stakeholders’ commitment to work together to identify and address barriers of common interest, prioritize resources, and achieve Minnesota’s mandates. The initiative fulfills the statutory role of the Minnesota e-Health Advisory Committee and sets the gold standard nationally for a model public-private partnership.

The purpose of the initiative is to:Empower Consumers with information to make informed health and medical decisions.
Inform and Connect Healthcare Providers by promoting the adoption and use of interoperable Electronic Health Records and electronic health information exchange.
Protect Communities and Improve Public Health by advancing efforts to make public health systems interoperable and modernized.Enhance the Infrastructure through:

Adoption of standards for health information exchange.

Policies for strong privacy and security protection of health information.

Funding and other resources for implementation.

Assessing and monitoring progress on adoption, use and interoperability.

This vision encompasses a comprehensive Minnesota health information infrastructure, including clinical, population, personal, and research dimensions.

Achievements

Recent Minnesota e-Health achievements include:

Releasing a statewide plan and guides for all providers and hospitals in Minnesota to establish “an interoperable electronic health records system within their hospital system or clinical practice setting” by 2015, as required by Minnesota Statutes, section 62J.495.

Advancing the adoption of interoperable electronic health record systems (EHRs) across the state.

Distributing e-Health grants and EHR loans that begin to address the great need for financial and technical support in rural and community clinics and Critical Access Hospitals.

Annually updating recommended standards endorsed by the Commissioner of Health to achieve interoperability in Minnesota.

Providing a combined Minnesota e-Health stakeholder response to selected national standard-setting activities to help ensure those efforts support Minnesota’s needs.

Hosting an annual e-Health Summit to educate and share lessons learned to enhance adoption and effective use of EHRs and statewide health information exchange.

The Minnesota E-Health Initiative provides feedback on state and federal definitions, criteria and/or proposed regulations relating to e-health. The feedback is provided in the form of a public coordinated response in which members of the e-health initiative, workgroups and the public participate.